Lidar systems and methods

ABSTRACT

A Lidar system is provided. The Lidar system may comprise: a plurality of light sources configured to emit a plurality of light beams, the plurality of light sources are mounted to a first mounting apparatus comprising a cooling feature; a plurality of optical fiber elements, and each of the plurality of light sources is optically coupled to an input end of one or more optical fiber elements from the plurality of optical fiber elements; and a second mounting apparatus comprising at least one mounting unit coupled to an emitting end of the plurality of optical fiber elements, and the at least one mounting unit is configured to control an output direction of the plurality of light beams individually, and a distribution pattern of the plurality of light beams emitted from the emitting end of the plurality of optical fiber elements.

CROSS-REFERENCE

This application is a Continuation Application of U.S. application Ser.No. 16/170,783, filed Oct. 25, 2018, which is a Continuation Applicationof International PCT Application No. PCT/CN2018/108409, filed on Sep.28, 2018, which claims the benefit of Chinese Application No.201810607571.X, filed on Jun. 13, 2018, Chinese Application No.201820914524.5, filed on Jun. 13, 2018, and Chinese Application No.201810606927.8, filed on Jun. 13, 2018, each of which is entirelyincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Lidar technology can be used to obtain three-dimensional information ofan environment by measuring distances to objects. A Lidar system mayinclude at least a light source configured to emit a pulse of light anda detector configured to receive returned pulse of light. The returnedpulse of light or light beam may be referred to as echo light beam.Based on the lapse time between the emission of the pulse of light anddetection of returned pulse of light (i.e., time of flight), a distancecan be obtained. The pulse of light can be generated by a laser emitterthen focused through a lens or lens assembly. The returned pulse oflight may be received by a detector located near the laser emitter. Insome Lidar systems, such a pair of laser emitter and detector may beconfigured to rotate about a rotational axis thus scanning across aplane.

In some situations, in order to obtain sufficient three-dimensionalinformation, multiple emitter/detector pairs may be employed. Such Lidarmay also be referred to as multiline Lidar. A multiline Lidar mayprovide benefits of achieving a large field of view or greaterresolution. A large area scan can be achieved by rotating Lidar andthereby rotating the vertical field of view with the Lidar. In somecases, the multiple emitter/detector pairs may be arranged into arrays.The number and/or distribution of emitters arranged in a verticaldirection (e.g., with respect to ground level) may substantially affectthe angular resolution or angle range in the vertical field of view. Forexample, the vertical angular resolutions of 16-line, 32-line, and64-line Lidars are 2°, 1.33°, and 0.43° respectively. In anotherexample, the vertical angular resolutions of 4-line and 8-line Lidarsare each 0.8°. The angular resolution or angle range may be limited bythe spatial configuration of the emitters. For instance, as more laserlines are needed to achieve a higher vertical resolution, the overallLidar system may have to increase the size to accommodate more laseremitters. In some cases, multiple emitters or lasers may be located atthe focal plane of an optical assembly or optical lens which requiresthe emitters or lasers packed into a confined region of area. Suchcrowded or dense arrangement of the lasers may prevent excess heatgenerated by the lasers from being removed or dissipated from the Lidarsystem resulting in poor reliability of the Lidar system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A need exists for improved Lidar system for three-dimensionalmeasurement. A further need exists for a multiline Lidar with improvedspatial resolution or greater field of view without increasing the sizeof the overall system. The provided Lidar system may address the aboveneeds by providing a flexible and spatially configurable emitting deviceof the Lidar system. The provided Lidar may exhibit improved performanceand better device reliability with improved heat dissipation capability.In particular, lasers or light sources may be permitted to be arrangedinto an optimal layout for facilitating heat dissipation withoutaffecting the emitting light beam distribution or resolution.Three-dimensional imaging may be achieved by the provided Lidar systemwith improved accuracy and better performance.

In some aspects, a Lidar system is provided. The Lidar system maycomprise: a plurality of light sources configured to emit a plurality oflight beams, the plurality of light sources are mounted to a firstmounting apparatus comprising a cooling feature; a plurality of opticalfiber elements, and each of the plurality of light sources is opticallycoupled to an input end of one or more optical fiber elements from theplurality of optical fiber elements; and a second mounting apparatuscomprising at least one mounting unit coupled to an emitting end of theplurality of optical fiber elements, and the at least one mounting unitis configured to control an output direction of the plurality of lightbeams individually, and a distribution pattern of the plurality of lightbeams emitted from the emitting end of the plurality of optical fiberelements.

In some embodiments, the plurality of light sources, the plurality ofoptical fiber elements, the first mounting apparatus and the secondmounting apparatus are configured to rotate about a vertical axis. Insome embodiments, the plurality of light sources, the plurality ofoptical fiber elements or the second mounting apparatus is disposed on asupporting body connected to a rotor of the Lidar system.

In some embodiments, the first mounting apparatus comprises a materialhaving high thermal conductivity. In some embodiments, the coolingfeature includes a plurality of heat sinks in direct contact with theplurality of light sources. In some embodiments, the cooling featureincludes a plurality of blade features to facilitate air circulationinside the Lidar system. In some embodiments, an arrangement of theplurality of light sources mounted to the first mounting apparatus hasgaps among the plurality of light sources so as to facilitate heatdissipation. In some cases, the distribution pattern of the plurality oflight beams emitted from the emitting end of the plurality of opticalfiber elements is independent of the arrangement.

In some embodiments, each of the plurality of light sources is opticallycoupled to one or more optical fiber elements using an optical couplingelement. In some embodiments, at least one of the plurality of lightsources is optically coupled to two or more optical fiber elements usingan optical coupling element. In some cases, the two or more opticalfiber elements have different optical properties.

In some embodiments, the at least one mounting unit is mechanicallyconnected to a rotor of the Lidar system with a pre-determinedorientation. In some embodiments, the at least one mounting unitcomprises a set of slots arranged along a length direction of themounting unit. In some examples, the set of slots are located on twoopposing sides of the at least one mounting unit. In some cases, asubset of slots is selected from the set of slots for receiving theplurality of optical fiber elements by the emitting end. In some cases,each of the set of slots has a pre-determined tilt angle with respect toa horizontal direction. In some cases, the output direction of theplurality of light beams is individually controlled by selecting a givenslot with a pre-determined tilt angle from the set of slots. In somecases, the set of slots are non-uniformly along the length direction ofthe mounting unit.

In some embodiments, the second mounting apparatus comprises multiplemounting units arranged in a horizontal plane with pre-determinedorientations, and wherein each mounting unit comprises a set of slotsarranged along a length direction of the mounting unit. In some cases,distribution pattern of the plurality of light beams emitted from theemitting end of the plurality of optical fiber elements is controlled bya selection of a subset of slots from the set of slots and/or aselection of one or more mounting units from the multiple mountingunits.

In some embodiments, the plurality of light beams emitted from theemitting end of the plurality of optical fiber elements are directed toan optical element to collimate the plurality of light beams intocollimated light beams to propagate in different directions. In someembodiments, the Lidar system further comprises a receiving device toreceive echo light beams and wherein the receiving device is disposed ona rotor of the Lidar system. In some embodiments, the Lidar systemfurther comprises a wireless transmission module configured to provideelectrical energy to the Lidar system

Additional aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will becomereadily apparent to those skilled in this art from the followingdetailed description, wherein only exemplary embodiments of the presentdisclosure are shown and described, simply by way of illustration of thebest mode contemplated for carrying out the present disclosure. As willbe realized, the present disclosure may be capable of other anddifferent embodiments, and its several details are capable ofmodifications in various obvious respects, all without departing fromthe disclosure. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to beregarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

All publications, patents, and patent applications mentioned in thisspecification are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent asif each individual publication, patent, or patent application wasspecifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity inthe appended claims. A better understanding of the features andadvantages of the present invention will be obtained by reference to thefollowing detailed description that sets forth illustrative embodiments,in which the principles of the invention are utilized, and theaccompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 schematically shows a mounting unit for arranging a plurality ofoptical fiber elements 120 into pre-determined directions, in accordancewith some embodiments of the invention.

FIGS. 2-4 show examples of mounting units with slots having V-shapedcross-section, in accordance with some embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a plurality of light sources coupled to aplurality of optical fiber elements, where the optical fiber elementsare coupled to a mounting apparatus, in accordance with some embodimentsof the invention.

FIG. 6 is another perspective view without the light sources and theoptical fiber elements.

FIGS. 7-9 show various examples of a mounting apparatus, in accordancewith some embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 10 shows an example of Lidar system comprising an emittingapparatus and a receiving apparatus.

FIG. 11 shows an internal of an exemplary Lidar system, in accordancewith some embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 12 illustrates an outside of an exemplary Lidar system, inaccordance with some embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 13-14 show examples of blade features.

FIG. 15 shows top views of various other examples of heat dissipationfeatures.

FIG. 16 shows an example of a Lidar system comprising a wireless powertransmission module.

FIG. 17 shows a side view of the wireless power transmission module.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While preferable embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed herein, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art thatsuch embodiments are provided by way of example only. Numerousvariations, changes, and substitutions will now occur to those skilledin the art without departing from the invention. It should be understoodthat various alternatives to the embodiments of the invention describedherein may be employed in practicing the invention.

Lidar is a type of ranging sensor characterized by long detectiondistance, high resolution, and low interference by the environment.Lidar has been widely applied in the fields of intelligent robots,unmanned aerial vehicles, autonomous driving or self-driving. Theworking principle of Lidar is estimating a distance based on a roundtrip time of electromagnetic waves between a source and a target.

Multiline Lidar has been increasingly used in research and commercialapplications. In a multiline Lidar system, a plurality of lasers andcorresponding detectors are arranged in a vertical direction to increasethe detection range in the vertical direction. In a conventionalmultiline Lidar system, spatial configuration or arrangement of thelaser emitters may significantly restrict the resolution or field ofview. The provided Lidar systems and methods may resolve the spacerestriction by employing optical fibers and a mounting structure forcontrolling the direction of light beams in a flexible and/orconfigurable manner.

In some embodiments, when a Lidar system is not rotating, the emittingapparatus of the Lidar system may emit laser beams which project intothe environment to scan a line (e.g., a vertical line scan). Along thisline scan, in some instances, a plurality of laser beam spots may benon-uniformly distributed (e.g., preferred to be denser in the middle ofthe line scan). The spacing between the laser beams spots along the linescan may determine the angular resolution of the Lidar. When the Lidarsystem rotates, the line scan may turn into a surface scan as a verticalarea is scanned by the laser beams. In some cases, the angular range ofthe line scan or of the surface scan in the vertical plane may determinethe vertical field-of-view of the Lidar system, and the angular range ofthe surface scan in the horizontal plane may determine the horizontalfield-of-view of the Lidar system. Correspondingly, the distribution oflight beams along the vertical line may determine the resolution of theLidar system in the vertical field-of-view, and the rotation speed ofthe Lidar may determine the resolution of the Lidar system in thehorizontal field-of-view.

In some embodiments, Lidar system of the present disclosure may compriseat least an emitting apparatus and a receiving apparatus. In someembodiments, the emitting apparatus may comprise a plurality of lightsources configured to emit a plurality of light beams, a plurality ofoptical fiber elements optically coupled to the plurality of lightsources at an input end, and coupled to a mounting unit at an outputend. The mounting unit may be configured to position a light emittingend of the optical fiber elements into an angle thereby affecting anoutput direction of the plurality of light beams. In some cases, themounting unit may comprise one or more components or sub-mounting unit.In some embodiments, each sub-mounting unit may comprise a set of slotsconfigured to receive an emitting end of optical fiber elements.

As utilized herein, terms “light emitting end”, “output end” or“emission end” and the like are used interchangeably throughout thespecification unless context suggests otherwise. The terms can refer tothe end of the optical fiber where light is emitted out. The terms“light input end” and “input end” are used interchangeably throughoutthe specification unless context suggests otherwise.

FIG. 1 schematically shows a mounting unit 204 for arranging a pluralityof optical fiber elements 120 into pre-determined directions 146, inaccordance with some embodiments of the invention. In some embodiments,a set of optical fiber elements 120 may be optically coupled to a set oflight sources 110 at one end (e.g., input end). A plurality of lightbeams 144 may be emitted out of the plurality of optical fiber elementsfrom a light emission end or output end. The output directions 146 ofthe plurality of output light beams may be controlled or determined bythe mounting unit 204. The mounting unit 204 may comprise a set of slots2043 configured to receive the light emission end of the optical fiberelements 120 such that the directions or distributions of the outputlight beams can be configured or controlled by the mounting unit.

In preferred embodiments, the plurality of slots may be configured forreceiving the light emission ends of the plurality of optical fiberelements. The plurality of slots may be designed to have pre-determineddirections and distributions thereby controlling the directions and/ordistributions of light beams output from the light emission end of theoptical fiber elements. In some cases, the plurality of slots may bearranged into an array along the length of the mounting unit. In somecases, the plurality of slots may have a longitudinal direction whichmay be orientated at various angles with respect to the width directionof the mounting unit such that the output direction of light beams canbe controlled individually. The light emission end of an optical fiberelement may be guided by a corresponding slot thereby affecting adirection of the output light beam.

In some cases, the mounting unit 204 may be orientated relative to theground reference frame such that the width direction of the mountingunit is parallel to the horizontal direction and the length direction ofthe mounting unit is parallel to the vertical direction. In such cases,the output directions of the light beams may be described with an anglewith respect to the horizontal direction. It should be understood that“vertical” and “horizontal” are relative terms that are intended toprovide an example of orientations of the slots/mounting units in oneapplication. For example, when the Lidar system is provided on a movableobject to sense an environment surrounding the movable object, thehorizontal direction or vertical direction may be relative to the bodyframe of the movable object. It should be appreciated that thedirections of the output light beams can be controlled with respect toany other directions depending on the orientation of the mounting unit.

In some cases, one slot may be configured to receive one optical fiberelement. The total number of slots may be greater than or equal to thetotal number of optical fiber elements. Alternatively, the total numberof slots may be less than the total number of optical fiber elements. Insome cases, it is preferable to provide more slots than the opticalfiber elements such that a subset of slots may be selected from theplurality of slots to achieve variable beam distributions. For instance,based on specific applications, the region in the field of view wheredenser light beams distributions is desired may be different. The lightbeam distribution and/or directions may be controlled by selectingvaried subset of slots from the plurality of slots. Different subsets ofslots may have different controlled directions and densities. Thisprovides benefit to allow for a Lidar system with flexibility andconfigurability to accommodate different and complex angular resolutionrequirement or range of angle. In some instances, in a sparse region,fewer slots may be selected for connecting optical fiber elementsthereby improving energy efficiency or lowering energy consumption ofthe Lidar system. In some instances, based on different requirements forrange of angle, slots with greater degree of angle with respect to ahorizontal direction (e.g., slots located away from the centerline ormiddle region) may be selected to achieve a wider vertical field ofview.

An optical fiber element 120 may be fixedly connected to a slot selectedfrom the plurality of slots 2043. In some instances, the optical fiberelement may be rigidly fixed to the mounting unit at the light emissionend such that the light emission end of the optical fiber element maynot be permitted to move relative to the mounting unit 204. In someinstances, the optical fiber element may be rotatably fixed by themounting unit at the light emission end such that the light emission endof the optical fiber element may be allowed to rotate about a fiber axisat the output end which may be guided by the corresponding slot.

An optical fiber may be an optical-waveguide device which can be anydevice that provides a constrained guided optical path in a solid, forexample, an optical fiber having one or more waveguide cores or anoptical slab or monolithic substrate having a width and length eachlarger than the thickness, and having one or more waveguides formedtherein (e.g., laterally spaced waveguides formed by diffusion of anindex-modifying material through a mask to form surface or near-surfacewaveguides). An optical fiber can be any device having one or more coresor internal waveguides and a length much longer than a transverse width,for example a glass fiber drawn from a melt or preform or extruded froman extruder. A thin optical fiber may be a fiber that is thin enough tobe readily bent to some non-infinite radius (e.g., a conventionaloptical fiber). An optical ribbon is defined as a fiber having two ormore signal cores laterally spaced across a width of the fiber. In somecases, an optical fiber element is selected to be deformable or flexiblesuch that the spatial configuration of the plurality of light sources isdecoupled or dissociated from the spatial configuration of the set ofslots or the emission end. For instance, the optical fiber elements maybe bendable such that the plurality of light sources may be located atany suitable location in the Lidar system with respect to the mountingunit or the emission end. As utilized herein, the terms “optical fiber”and “optical fiber element” are interchangeable throughout thisspecification unless context suggests otherwise.

The plurality of optical fiber elements can be any suitable type offiber such as, single-mode (SM) fiber, multi-mode (MM) fiber,large-mode-area (LMA) fiber, polarization-maintaining (PM) fiber,photonic-crystal or photonic-bandgap fiber, gain fiber (e.g.,rare-earth-doped optical fiber for use in an optical amplifier), or anysuitable combination thereof. In some cases, the plurality of opticalfiber elements may be the same type of optical fiber such as amulti-mode fiber. Light beams output from the plurality of optical fiberelements may be the same in terms of beam quality, power, wavelength,and various other aspects. Alternatively, light beams output from theplurality of optical fiber elements may be different. For example, theoptical coupling element for coupling light generated by the lightsource (e.g., laser) into the optical fibers may be used to controlvarious properties of the light beams. Details about the couplingelement are discussed later herein.

In some cases, the plurality of optical fiber elements may be selectedto have different properties or parameters such as numerical aperture(NA), coupling capability, end surface and various others. Differentproperties or parameters of the optical fiber elements may be selectedto affect one or more beam parameters (e.g., beam size, divergence,focusing, or numerical aperture (NA)).

In some cases, different optical fibers may be selected according to ascanning region or field of view. For example, in the vertical directionof an environment surrounding an automobile application, the emittedlight beams may be desired to be dense in the middle region and sparsein the upper and lower regions. Light beams emitted by the lasers maypass through one or more optical components such as optical collimationdevices respectively and then irradiate on an external object, forexample, a ground, a pedestrian, a bicycle, a bus stop board, or anautomobile. As the Lidar rotates (rotate back and forth about one ormore axes within an angular range or revolute about an axis), thevertical line of non-uniformly distributed beams may scan a verticalarea ahead, where the middle region of the vertical area may have denserlight beams for detection and thus has increased detection accuracy.Since the remote object is usually at the same horizontal level as theLidar, the external object may be more likely to be detected by lightbeams in the middle region, and may require more accurate detection andlonger distance range. In this case, optical fiber elementscorresponding to the light beams emitted into the middle region (i.e.,long distance range) may have a higher NA for higher light beam power,so as to detect a longer distance range. In some cases, the opticalfiber elements corresponding to the light beams emitted into the lowerregion such as directed to the ground (i.e., short distance range) mayhave a lower NA for lower light beam power. In some cases, the NA of theoptical fiber elements may be in a range determined by the core diameterof the optical fiber which can be, for example, from 100 micron to 200micron.

In some cases, the plurality of optical fiber elements 120 may havedifferent output end surfaces. The output end surface of the opticalfiber elements may affect the direction of an output light beam. In somecases, an angle of the end surface with respect to the fiber axis at theoutput end may affect the direction of output light beam. In this case,the direction of output light beam may be controlled by alternating theangle of the end surface, the configuration of the slots or acombination of both.

In some embodiments, the plurality of output light beams 144 may passthrough one or more optical elements such as a lens or lens assembly(e.g., one or more spherical lenses or aspheric lenses) 150 forcollimation, divergence, expansion, convergence or various othereffects.

In some embodiments, the plurality of slots may be grouped into aplurality of groups. Each group may comprise a subset of consecutiveslots. In some cases, the subset of slots within a group may be parallelwith each other. Alternatively, the subset of slots within a group maynot be in parallel with each other. The subset of slots within a groupmay or may not be evenly spaced. The plurality of groups may or may notbe evenly spaced or uniformly distributed or the spacing betweenadjacent groups may or may not be constant. The plurality of slots canbe grouped into any number of groups such as at least 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,7, 8, 9, 10, 15 or more groups.

The number of slots in each group may or may not be the same. Forinstance, there may be more slots in the group which may be close to themiddle portion, than the slots in the upper group 145-1 or lower group.Each group may comprise any number of slots. For example, at least 1, 2,3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 or more slots may be groupedinto a group. The spacing between adjacent slots across different groupsmay or may not be the same. For instance, spacing in the group close tothe middle portion may be smaller than the spacing in the upper group orlower group.

In some embodiments, slots in different groups may have different angles146 with respect to the width direction of the mounting unit. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 1, the uppermost group may have an anglegreater than the angle of the middle group. The angle with respect to afiber axis at the output end can be in any suitable range, such as, inany range from −60° to 60°, or in any other range. The difference inangles of adjacent groups may be, for example, no more than 0.1°, 0.2°,0.3°, 0.4°, 0.5°, 0.6°, 0.7°, 0.8°, 0.9°, 1°, 2°, 5°, 10°, 15° or anynumber greater than 15°. In some instances, the degree of angle mayincrease from the middle group to and off-center group. In someinstances, the incremental step of angles from a middle group to anoff-center group (may not be constant number. The incremental step canbe, for example, no more than 0.1°, 0.2°, 0.3°, 0.4°, 0.5°, 0.6°, 0.7°,0.8°, 0.9°, 1°, 2°, 5°, 10°, 15° or any number greater than 15°. Theangles of slots/groups can be precisely controlled such that thedirections of output light beams can be controlled with improvedprecision and accuracy. The angle with respect to the fiber axis withrespect to the length direction of the mounting unit may also bereferred to as a tilt angle throughout the specification. In some cases,the tilt angle can also be defined with respect to the width directionof the mounting unit (e.g., horizontal direction).

The distribution of the plurality of groups or the distribution of slotswithin each group need not be symmetrical about the centerline or middleline of the mounting unit. In some cases, the distribution of the slotsand the angles of the slots may be determined according to a desiredvertical angular resolution, range of the vertical field of view,desired angular resolution in a given region and various others.Additionally or alternatively, the density of slots within each groupmay be substantially the same across different groups whereas theangular resolution or distribution of light beams may be controlled byselecting more or less slots from each group. The spacing (e.g., centerto center) between adjacent slots may be at least 1, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4,1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 2 times or more of the width of the slot. Insome cases, the spacing between adjacent slots may be dependent on thedimension of the optical fibers such that two adjacent optical fibersmay be spaced apart by no more than 0.05 mm, 0.1 mm, 0.2 mm, 0.3 mm, 0.4mm, 0.5 mm, 0.6 mm, 0.7 mm, 0.8 mm, 0.9 mm, 1 mm, 2 mm or any numbergreater than 2 mm. The compact arrangement of slots may allow for morelight beams fit within an area or region thereby improving theresolution without increasing the overall size of the Lidar system.

For example, in the vertical direction, the lasers and correspondinglaser beams or laser lines may be distributed densely in the middle partof the device, and may be distributed sparsely in the upper and lowerparts. In another example, a 40-line in-vehicle Lidar may have avertical field of view range of −25° to +15° corresponding to a span ofthe emitted beams from the vertically lowest laser to the highest laser,with the horizontal level being 0°. In the vertical field of view rangeof −6° to +2°, the Lidar may have a vertical angular resolution of ⅓°corresponding to a first concentration of laser beams. In the verticalfield of view range of +2° to +3°, −14° to −6°, the Lidar may have avertical angular resolution of 1° corresponding to a secondconcentration of laser beams. In the vertical field of view range of +3°to +5°, the Lidar may have a vertical angular resolution of 2°corresponding to a third concentration of laser beams. In the verticalfield of view range of +5° to +11°, the Lidar may have a verticalangular resolution of 3° corresponding to a fourth concentration oflaser beams. In the vertical field of view range of +11° to +15°, theLidar may have a vertical angular resolution of 4° corresponding to afifth concentration of laser beams. In the vertical field of view rangeof −19° to −14°, the Lidar may have a vertical angular resolution of 5°corresponding to a sixth concentration of laser beams. In the verticalfield of view range of −25° to −19°, the Lidar may have a verticalangular resolution of 6° corresponding to a seventh concentration oflaser beams. Accordingly, the slots located in the middle group may bedenser than the slots located at the top or bottom of the mounting unit.Alternatively or additionally, denser light beams in the middle regionmay be achieved by selecting more slots located in the middle group tobe coupled to optical fibers.

The plurality of optical fiber elements 120 may be optically coupled toa set of light sources 110. The plurality of light sources 110 may beconfigured to generate laser beams or pulses of light. In someembodiments, the wavelength of the laser beam may be between 895 nm and915 nm (e.g., 905 nm). This wavelength range may correspond to infraredlight which are invisible and penetrative, which can improve thedetection range of the Lidar and prevent disturbance to the environment.The wavelength of the laser beam can be in any other range depending onthe specific application. In some cases, a light source may comprise atleast a laser diode and a driver circuit.

The number of light sources may be equal to or less than the number ofoptical fibers. Alternatively, the number of light sources may begreater than the number of optical fibers. Each light source may becoupled to one or more optical fibers. In some cases, a light source maybe coupled to one or more optical fibers via an optical coupling element111.

An optical coupling element in some cases may be a demultiplexer whichmay include a 1×N fiber-optic power splitter with one fiber-optic inputport and N fiber-optic output ports. As an example, an optical-powersplitter may include one or more fused biconical taper (FBT) splitterswhich are assembled by placing two or more fibers adjacent to oneanother and then fusing the fibers together by applying heat. As anotherexample, an optical-power splitter may include a planar lightwavecircuit made by fabricating optical waveguides on a glass substrateusing a lithographic process. Alternatively, the coupling element maynot need to comprise a fiber-optic power splitter when a light sourcemay be coupled to single optical fiber element.

Alternatively, in some cases, an optical coupling element may be acylindrical lens. As an example, the light source may be a laser diode,and a cylindrical lens may be arranged at a proper distance from theemitting surface of the laser diode to compress the divergent angle ofthe laser diode. An input end of one optical fiber may be arranged atthe focal plane of the cylindrical lens to couple the light beam of thelaser diode into the optical fiber. In some cases, the input ends of twoor more optical fibers may be arranged at the focal plane of thecylindrical lens to couple and split the light beam of the laser diodeinto the two or more optical fibers. The fraction of light coupled toeach optical fiber may be determined by the properties or parameters ofthe two or more optical fibers (e.g., NA), and by the arranged positionsof the input ends of the two or more optical fibers corresponding to theemitting surface of the laser diode.

A light source may be coupled to any number of optical fiber elements. Alight source may, in some cases, be coupled to multiple optical fiberelements (e.g., optical fiber elements 120-1, 120-2). The multipleoptical fiber elements coupled to the same light source may or may nothave the same properties or parameters. In some cases, differentproperties of the optical fiber element may be selected based on beamquality requirement, detection range requirement, energy efficiencyrequirement and various others. In an example, optical fiber elements(e.g., optical fiber element 120-1) corresponding to the light beamsemitted into the middle region may have a higher NA for higher lightbeam power and longer distance range. In some cases, the optical fiberelements (e.g., optical fiber element 120-2) corresponding to the lightbeams emitted into the lower or higher region such as directed to theground or to the sky may have a lower NA.

In some cases, the multiple optical fiber elements coupled to the samelight source can be the same (e.g., same NA, same operating mode, etc)where the optical coupling unit may be used to control the fraction oflight coupled to each optical fiber element. For example, the fractionof light coupled to the optical fiber element corresponding to lightbeam emitted to a long range may be greater than the fraction of lightcoupled to the optical fiber element corresponding to a short range. Inthe illustrated example, the fraction of light coupled to optical fiberelement 120-1 may be greater than the fraction of light coupled tooptical fiber element 120-2.

The set of slots 2043 may be integrally formed with the mounting unit204. For instance, the slots such as grooves or channels may befabricated (e.g., etched, molded, cut, engraved, etc) with the mountingunit. The mounting unit 204 may be composed of any suitable material. Insome embodiments, the material may be selected to have a relatively lowcoefficient of thermal expansion. For example, the mounting unit 130 maybe made from a material having a coefficient of thermal expansion ofless than 4×10⁶ K⁻¹, such as for example, a glass material, alithium-aluminosilicate glass-ceramic, Invar, or a silicon-basedmaterial. Having a relatively low coefficient of thermal expansion mayallow the optical fiber elements mounted to the mounting unit tomaintain optical alignment in the presence of environmental temperaturevariations.

The aforementioned mounting unit may allow for controlling the lightbeam distribution in a flexible or configurable manner. In some cases,the light beams may be controlled by the mounting unit to achieve aneffect that would otherwise be achieved by an optical element. Forinstance, light beams may be controlled to be focused on a desired plane(e.g., focal plane of a lens 150) or collimated by the mounting unit. Insuch cases, the optical element (e.g., collimator) used in aconventional Lidar system may be eliminated. A subset of slots within agroup may not be parallel with each other. Other variations may beprovided to achieve various effects so as to improve the performance ofthe Lidar system or remove the necessity of certain optical componentsutilized in a conventional Lidar system

The mounting unit may have any suitable shape, dimension or geometrics.For instance, the mounting unit may have a substantially rectangularshape, oval shape, circular shape, ring shape, arc shape, triangularshape, trapezoid, square shape, or any other shape. As mentioned above,the array of slots may or may not have the same length so long as theoutput end of the optical fibers can be affixed or connected to themounting unit. The end surfaces of the slots may or may not be alignedalong a vertical direction.

A slot may have any suitable cross-sectional shape or dimensions. Thecross-section of the slot may have, for example, a circular shape,half-circle shape, arc shape, triangular shape, V shape, D shape, Cshape, W shape, O shape, rectangular shape, square shape, and variousothers. The slot may have a dimension to accommodate at least a portionof an optical fiber or the output end of the optical fibercircumferentially as long as the direction of the optical fiber can beguided by the slot. In some cases, the slot may have a width or width ofthe opening that is greater than or equal to the dimeter of the outputend of the optical fiber. Alternatively, the width is smaller than thediameter of the optical fiber. The width of the slot may be, forexample, no more than 0.05 mm, 0.1 mm, 0.2 mm, 0.3 mm, 0.4 mm, 0.5 mm,0.6 mm, 0.7 mm, 0.8 mm, 0.9 mm, 1 mm, 2 mm or any number greater than 2mm. The cross-section of a slot may be constant. Alternatively, thecross-section of a slot may be variable. For instance, when thecross-section of an optical fiber may be variable, the slot may bedesigned to accommodate the variable cross-section of the optical fiber.

FIGS. 2-4 show exemplary slots 2043 with a cross-section in V shape, inaccordance with some embodiments of the invention. In the illustratedmounting units 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, the slot 2043 may have a V-shapedcross-section. The slot may have a width at the opening greater than thediameter of the optical fiber such that the optical fiber can beentirely fit inside or enclosed by the slot circumferentially.Alternatively, a circumferential portion of the optical fiber (e.g.,half circle, ¼ circle) may be accommodated inside the slot. In somecases, attachment methods may be used to fix the optical fiber to themounting unit. Any suitable attachment method may be utilized, includingbut not limited to, bonding with an adhesive or epoxy (e.g., using anultraviolet-cure (UV-cure) adhesive, glue, a two-part epoxy, a thermallyconductive epoxy, or an electrically conductive epoxy), welding,brazing, soldering, mechanical fastening (e.g., with one or more screws,flanges, interlocking connections, friction, snaps, locks, clips,rails), or any suitable combination thereof.

An array of slots 2043 may be formed on a first side 2041 of themounting unit (e.g., mounting units 2004, 2005, 2006). Alternatively,arrays of slots may be formed on two or more sides of the mounting unit.For example, arrays of slots 2043 are formed on two opposing sides 2041,2042 of the mounting unit (e.g., mounting units 2001, 2002, 2003),respectively. The two arrays of slots may or may not have the samelayout (e.g., spacing or distribution may or may not be the same). Thetwo arrays of slots formed on the two opposing sides may or may have thesame cross-sectional shape. The two arrays of slots formed on the twoopposing sides may be interleaved or aligned along the depth directionof the mounting unit. In the illustrated examples, an array of slots maybe formed on one side 2041 of a mounting unit 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005,2006 comprising a stepped surface 20411, 20412. In the examples, a depthof the slot may be the step-difference between the two surfaces 20411,20412.

The aforementioned light sources may be spatially decoupled from theemission end of the emitting apparatus of the Lidar system or thedistribution pattern of the output light beams. This may provide benefitto provide a Lidar system with improved performance by allowing for anoptimized configuration of the light sources with less spatialrestriction. For instance, the light sources may be organized orarranged to be in direct contact or in close proximity to a coolingdevice thereby improving the performance of the Lidar system. Inaddition to or alternatively, the light sources may be spaced part orseparated with spacing permitting sufficient contact with air flowthereby aiding in heat exchange. In some cases, the removal of heat fromthe light sources may provide for lower device operating temperature,and thus may improve device reliability. Additionally, lower operatingtemperature of the device may result in lower electrical resistancevalues for the stator and rotor conducting materials of the Lidarsystem. This may effectively reduce resistive losses in the system,which may translate into improved system efficiency. Additionally,stabilization of the temperature of a laser diode may provide for thelaser-diode operating wavelength to be substantially stable.

Any suitable cooling methods can be utilized by the Lidar system. Thecooling method can be passive cooling such as by arranging the lightsources to be thermally coupled to a heat sink or other cooling feature(e.g., heat pipe, heat spreader, etc). Passive cooling may refer todissipation of heat from a light source (e.g., laser diode, laserdriver) by thermal contact with a heat sink or cooling fins. In somecases, a device, such as a fan, may be used to blow a gas/air over thesurface of the cooling fins and/or heat sinks to aid in passive cooling.The cooling method can be active cooling such as utilizing athermoelectric cooler driven by temperature controller to adjust orstabilize the laser-diode operating temperature.

FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 show an example of a plurality of light sources 2011coupled to a plurality of optical fiber elements 202, where the opticalfiber elements are coupled to a mounting apparatus 203, in accordancewith some embodiments of the invention. The optical fiber elements 202can be the same as the optical fiber elements as described elsewhereherein. The mounting apparatus 203 may comprise one or more mountingunits 204. The mounting unit can be the same as the mounting unit asdescribed above. For example, the mounting unit may comprise a set ofslots 2043 having pre-determined directions to control the outputdirection of a plurality of light beams. The mounting unit may be fixedto a base structure 205, 206. Further details about the mountingapparatus are described later herein.

In some cases, the plurality of light sources 2011 and the front end ofthe mounting unit 204 may be separated by at least 5 mm, 1 cm, 2 cm, 3cm, 4 cm, 5 cm, 10 cm, or more. The term “front end” as utilized hereinmay refer to the end of the mounting unit or the mounting apparatuswhere light beams emitting from. The front end of the mounting unit mayalso be the emitting end surface of the optical fiber elements or theemission end of the light beams (emitted from the optical fiberelements). The plurality of light sources may be located in any locationrelative to the emission end of the light beams.

The plurality of light sources 2011 are mounted to a mounting platform207. The mounting platform 207 may comprise a cooling feature. In someembodiments, the cooling feature may include a plurality of heat sinks2072. In some cases, one or more lasers or light sources may be packagedinto an emission board 2010 each being in direct contact with a heatsink 2072. In some cases, the emission board may have a case such thatan external surface of the case may be in direct contact with the heatsink thereby removing excess heat generated by the electronic components(e.g., laser diode, laser driver) of the light source. Alternatively,the electronic components may not be enclosed by a case and theelectronic components may be in direct contact with the heat sink. Forinstance, the semiconductor substrate of laser diode may be in directcontact with the heat sink. The heat sink and/or the case of theemission board may be made of thermal conductive material. For example,the heat sink 2072 may be made from a material with a thermalconductivity of greater than 5 W·m⁻¹·K⁻¹. The materials may include, butare not limited to, metals (such as copper, aluminum, brass, silver,gold, iron, steel, lead), diamond, carbon, or any alloy, mixture, orcombinations thereof. Having a relatively high thermal conductivity mayallow the heat sink to dissipate or remove heat produced by some of theelectrical components mounted to the heat sink, for example, the laserdiode, laser driver or other components.

Any number of heat sinks can be included in the Lidar system. Forexample, the plurality of light sources may be assigned to be locatedonto at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 20 or more heat sinks. A heatsink may be in direct contact with 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 20 ormore light sources. The plurality of heat sinks 2072 may be spaced apartfor an improved heat dissipation performance. For instance, the twoadjacent heat sinks 2072 may be separated by at least 2 mm, 3 mm, 4 mm,5 mm, 6 mm, 7 mm, 8 mm, 9 mm, 10 mm or more in the vertical direction.In some cases, the spacing between two adjacent heat sinks 2072 (atleast in the vertical direction) may be greater than the verticalspacing between lasers in a conventional Lidar system. The plurality ofheat sinks may be distributed uniformly. Alternatively, the plurality ofheat sinks may be distributed in any configuration regardless of thedistribution of light beams at the emission end.

In some cases, each emission board 2010 may be in direct contact with aheat sink 2072. For instance, an emission board may be mounted on a heatsink to be in direct contact with a top surface of a heat sink. Inaddition to or alternatively, two emission boards can be in directcontact with two opposing sides (e.g., top side and bottom side) of aheat sink. A plurality of emission boards may be separated by the heatsinks or interspersed with a plurality of heat sinks. The emissionboards may be spaced apart with a gap in between two adjacent emissionboards in the vertical direction. For instance, two adjacent emissionboards 2010 may be separated by at least 2 mm, 3 mm, 4 mm, 5 mm, 6 mm, 7mm, 8 mm, 9 mm, 10 mm or more in the vertical direction. The gaps amongthe emission boards may enable gas or air to flow or pass by the surfaceof the emission boards that could enhance heat exchange. The arrangementof the emission boards or the plurality of light sources may beindependent of the distribution and/or the output direction of the lightbeams.

The emission board 2010 may be fixedly connected to the heat sink. Theemission board can be attached to the heat sink using any suitableattachment means, including but not limited to, bonding with an adhesiveor epoxy (e.g., using an ultraviolet-cure (UV-cure) adhesive, glue, atwo-part epoxy, a thermally conductive epoxy, or an electricallyconductive epoxy), welding, brazing, soldering, mechanical fastening(e.g., with one or more screws, flanges, interlocking connections,friction, snaps, locks, clips, rails), or any suitable combinationthereof. In the illustrated example, mechanical fasteners such as screws1261 may be used to assemble the plurality of heat sinks 2071 and theemission boards.

The mounting platform 207 may be fixedly connected to a rotor of theLidar system. For example, the mounting platform 207 may be mechanicallyconnected to a supporting body of the Lidar system through the basestructure 2071, where the supporting body is rotated by the rotor of theLidar system. The supporting body may be integral to the rotor or partof the rotor. The supporting body may comprise a cavity housing anemission apparatus or at least a portion of the components of anemission apparatus (e.g., light sources, mounting apparatus, lensassembly, etc), and receiving apparatus or at least a portion of thecomponents of a receiving apparatus (e.g., lens assembly, detector,etc). The mounting platform 207 may be configured for mounting othercomponents of an emission apparatus of the Lidar system. For instance,controller or other electronic components 2013 may be affixed to themounting unit. In some cases, components that may generate heat may alsobe attached to the mounting unit (e.g., being in direct contact with theheat sinks) to facilitate heat dissipation.

In some cases, additional cooling features such as a thermoelectriccooler driven by temperature controller may be used to adjust orstabilize the light source (e.g., laser-diode) operating temperature.Other cooling features such as blades features are described laterherein with respect to some embodiments.

In some cases, the mounting platform 207 coupled to the light sourcesand the mounting apparatus 203 coupled to the emission end of theoptical fiber elements are both mechanically or rigidly connected to arotor of the Lidar system. The mounting platform 207 and the mountingapparatus 203 may be driven by the rotor to move about a rotationalaxis. The mounting platform 207 and the mounting apparatus may bestationary relative to each other. The mounting platform 207 and themounting apparatus 203 may be connected to the rotor via any suitableintermediate components or structures such as a supporting body.Alternatively, the mounting platform 207 and the mounting apparatus 203may be attached to different portions of the Lidar system. The mountingplatform and the mounting apparatus may or may not have relativemovement with respect to one another.

The Lidar system may comprise a mounting apparatus for controlling anoutput direction and/or distribution of light beams. The mountingapparatus may comprise one or more mounting units. The mounting unit canbe the same as the mounting unit as described elsewhere herein. Forexample, the mounting unit may comprise a set of slots havingpre-determined directions to control the output direction of lightbeams. The set of slots may be formed on one side of the mounting unitor two opposing sides of the mounting unit. The mounting apparatus mayfurther comprise components such as a base structure and/or other fixingstructure configured to position the mounting units into pre-determinedorientations.

FIGS. 7-9 show examples of a mounting apparatus 2031, 2032, 2033, 2034,in accordance with some embodiments of the invention. In the illustratedexample 2031, the mounting apparatus comprises one mounting unit 204which is affixed to a base component 205. The mounting unit 204 may havetwo opposing sides 2041, 2042 and a set of slots can be formed on oneside or both sides of the mounting unit. In some cases, the basecomponent may comprise a docking structure 2052 formed on a surface 2053of the base component. The mounting unit 204 may be received by orcoupled to the base component 205 by the docking structure 2052. In theillustrated example 2031, the docking structure 2052 may be a groove orrecessive structure having a shape and/or size that accommodates adimension of the mounting unit. In another example 2032, the mountingapparatus may comprise multiple mounting units 204. The multiplemounting units 204 may be received by or coupled to the base component205 by the docking structure 2052. The docking structure may have ashape and/or size to accommodate the multiple mounting units in asimilar way as described above. Alternatively, the docking structure2052 as illustrated in the example 2032 may include additional elements20521 to separate the multiple mounting units 204 with pre-determinedspacing and/or position the multiple mounting units into pre-determinedorientations. The docking structure may be used to control anarrangement of multiple mounting units at least in a horizontal planethereby affecting a distribution pattern and output direction of lightbeams. The horizontal plane is perpendicular to the vertical directionas described in FIG. 1.

In some cases, the docking structure may be used to configure theorientation of the mounting unit. An orientation of the mounting unitmay be adjusted by adjusting the direction of the docking structure.This may advantageously allow for a flexible configuration oforientation of multiple mounting units with respect to one anotherthereby affecting a distribution pattern of the light beams. FIG. 8shows a top view of a mounting apparatus 203 comprising multiplemounting units 204 with configurable orientations in a horizontal plane.The multiple mounting units 204 may be oriented with respective to oneanother such that a plurality of light beams emitted from one mountingunit may or may not be parallel to a plurality of light beams emittedfrom another mounting unit. For instance, in scenario A, the multiplemounting units 204 may be orientated to be parallel to each other (i.e.,a forward direction of the mounting unit is aligned to each other) suchthat the plurality of light beams emitted from the mounting apparatusmay be parallel in the horizontal plane. In the example of scenario B,the multiple mounting units 204 may be oriented to have a substantiallyconverge arrangement in the horizontal plane such that the plurality oflight beams emitted from the mounting apparatus may be substantiallyconverged in the horizontal plane. Various other layouts (e.g., divergearrangement) of the mounting units may be achieved by adjusting theshape and direction of the docking structure.

FIG. 9 shows other examples of mounting apparatus 2033, 2034. Themounting apparatus 2033, 2034 may include additional component such asfixation component 206 to assist positioning the mounting units 204. Thefixation component 206 may be configured to hold the mounting units inplace and/or into pre-determined orientations with respect to oneanother. In the example 2034, the fixation component 206 may have adocking structure 2063 shaped and/or sized to receive the mounting units204 thereby controlling the orientation of the mounting units in thehorizontal plane. The fixation component 206 may work in conjunctionwith the base component 205. The orientation of the mounting units maybe controlled by the fixation component 206, the base component 205 or acombination of both. In another example, the fixation component 206 ofthe mounting unit 2033 may have a structure 2063 that may not restrictthe orientation of the mounting units in the horizontal plane whereasthe orientation may be controlled by the base component 205 alone (e.g.,docking structure 2052).

Lidar system of the present disclosure may comprise an emittingapparatus with configurable light beam distribution, output direction,resolution as well as improved heat dissipation performance. In someembodiments, the output direction of light beams or distribution oflight beams emitted from the output end of the optical fibers may becontrolled by at least one of the following: selection of a subset ofslots from a plurality of slots on each mounting unit, selection of oneor more mounting units from multiple mounting units, and an orientationof multiple mounting units in the horizontal plane.

FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 illustrate an example of Lidar system comprising anemitting apparatus 200 and a receiving apparatus 300. The emittingapparatus may comprise a plurality of light sources 201 (e.g., emissionboards 2010, driving circuits and other electronic components 2012,2013) mounted to a first mounting apparatus or a mounting platform 207.The mounting platform 207 may comprise cooling features. In some cases,the mounting platform 207 may comprise thermal conductive material ormaterials with high thermal conductivity and the electronic componentsmay be in direct contact with the mounting platform 207 for heatdissipation purpose. Other cooling features of the mounting unit can beincluded as described elsewhere herein.

The plurality of light sources may be coupled to an input end of aplurality of optical fiber elements 202. The optical fiber elements maybe coupled to a mounting apparatus at an output end or emission end. Theoutput direction and/or distribution pattern of a plurality of lightbeams may be controlled by the mounting apparatus 203 as describedelsewhere herein. The output light beams may be directed to one or moreoptical elements 208 (e.g., reflectors 2081, 2082) and/or pass through alens assembly 209 (e.g., collimation lens, collimation lens assembly)for collimating or focusing light beams. In some cases, one or more ofthe optical elements such as the reflector 2081, 2082 may be eliminated.In such cases, the output light beams may be directed to the lensassembly 209 directly.

In some embodiments, the Lidar system may comprise a receiving apparatus300. The receiving apparatus and the emitting apparatus 200 may belocated in separate cavities. In some cases, the receiving apparatus andthe emitting apparatus may be housed by a supporting body (e.g., part ofrotor) and separated by one or more components 127, 128, 129. In someembodiments, the receiving apparatus may comprise a plurality ofdetectors configured to receive the echo beams. Each of the detectorsmay correspond to one of the lasers and may be configured to receivelight originated from the corresponding laser. The receiving apparatusmay also be referred to as a receiver which includes a detector (e.g.,photoreceiver, optical receiver, optical sensor, photodetector, oroptical detector). In some cases, a receiver may include one or moreavalanche photodiodes (APDs) or one or more single-photon avalanchediodes (SPADs). In some cases, a receiver may include one or more PNphotodiodes (e.g., a photodiode structure formed by a p-typesemiconductor and an n-type semiconductor) or one or more PINphotodiodes (e.g., a photodiode structure formed by an undoped intrinsicsemiconductor region located between p-type and n-type regions).

In some embodiments, the receiving apparatus 300 may comprise an opticalreceiving device 301 (e.g., focusing lens, focusing lens assembly), oneor more optical elements 302 (e.g., reflectors 3021, 3022), and aplurality of detectors 303. The reflected light off an external objectmay pass through the optical receiving device 301 and then is receivedby the detectors 303. The quantity of the detectors may be the same asthat of the lasers or light sources. The quantity of the detectors maybe the same as that of the optical fiber elements.

In some embodiments, use of flexible optical fibers to couple the lightsources and the emission end of the emitting apparatus may allow for anoptimized overall design of the Lidar system. For example, the pluralityof light sources may be mounted to a mounting platform with an optimalarrangement or layout to facilitate heat dissipation. FIG. 11 shows aninternal view of an exemplary Lidar system, in accordance with someembodiments of the invention.

In some embodiments, components of the emitting apparatus and componentsof the receiving apparatus may be coupled to the rotor 100 of the Lidarsystem. In some cases, the emitting apparatus and/or the receivingapparatus may be affixed to the rotor and rotated by the rotor. Therotor 100 may comprise a supporting body having a cavity formed by aninner surface 101 and an outer surface 102. The cavity may comprise areceiving cavity 106 and an emitting cavity 105 separated by one or morecomponents (e.g., components 127, 129). The receiving cavity 106 may beconfigured to house the receiving apparatus or one or more components ofthe receiving apparatus (e.g., lens, reflectors, and detectors 303). Theemitting cavity 105 may be configured to house the emitting apparatus orone or more components of the emitting apparatus (e.g., light sources,mounting platform 207 for the light sources, mounting apparatus for theemission end, lens assembly, etc).

In some cases, the mounting platform 207 may be attached to thesupporting body. In the illustrated example, the outer surface 102 ofthe supporting body may comprise structures (e.g., structure 10241,10243, 10244) to accommodate a portion of the mounting platform tofacilitate heat dissipation. For example, at least a circumferentialportion (e.g., blade feature) of the mounting platform may be exposed orextended outside of the outer surface such that air flow may be enhancedby the blade features when the mounting platform and supporting body areturned/rotated by the rotor. Additionally, the exposed portion or thesurface extended outside of the outer surface may also promote heatexchange.

In some cases, Lidar system may be sealed such that the air may becirculated inside the Lidar system driven by the cooling feature of themounting platform. FIG. 12 illustrates an outside view of an exemplaryLidar system, in accordance with some embodiments of the invention. Insome cases, the rotor may be enclosed within a housing of the Lidarsystem. In an embodiment, the housing may comprise a cap 700, a top 600,wall body 500 and a base 400 to seal the Lidar system. In some cases,the top 600 may comprise heat dissipation features 601 to help removeexcess heat generated by the components inside the Lidar system. In somecases, the heat dissipation features may comprise a plurality of fins6011, 6012 to aid in heat exchange with the ambient environment. In somecases, air circulation inside the housing may be promoted by coolingfeatures of the mounting platform (e.g., blade feature) as describedabove. The plurality of fins can be in any suitable arrangement and mayhave any suitable form factors. FIG. 15 shows top views of various otherexamples of heat dissipation features 601. The top 600 may comprise aplurality of fins 6011 that may be substantially a slab or a curvedstructure. The top 600 may comprise a structure 6021, 6022 toaccommodate the cap 700 in order to seal the Lidar system.

FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 show examples of cooling features of the mountingplatform 207. The cooling feature may comprise heat sinks 2072 and bladefeatures 2073 as shown in FIG. 13. In the illustrated example, aplurality of blade features 2073 extending from the heat sinks 2072 maybe used to facilitate heat dissipation. In some embodiments, the bladefeatures may be shaped and sized to function as rotating blades topromote air flow. For example as shown in FIG. 13, the mounting platform207 is fixedly connected to a rotor of the Lidar system, and the bladefeatures 2073 may rotate about the rotational axis of the Lidar systemthereby forcing air to flow or circulate in the Lidar system. The bladefeatures 2073 can be of any suitable form or shape to promote air flowin the chamber of the Lidar system. For instance, the blade features2073 as shown in FIG. 13 may be designed to have a blade angle toincrease air flow. FIG. 14 shows another example of blade feature 2073.In the illustrated example, the blade feature 2073 may have steppedsurface to increase external surface area so as to exchange heat andincrease air flow inside the Lidar system. The blade feature may beintegrally formed with the heat sink. Alternatively or in addition to,the blade feature may be a separate component and be assembled to theheat sink.

In some embodiments, the Lidar system may comprise a wireless powertransmission module. The wireless power transmission module may provideelectrical power to various electronic components of the Lidar system.The wireless power transmission module may be configured to transmitelectrical power to the Lidar systems using inductive transmission. Thewireless power transmission module may comprise a primary coil. Theprimary coil can be integrated into a transmission part of the wirelesspower transmission module to transmit inductive energy to a secondarycoil which is integrated into the receiving part of the wireless powertransmission module. The secondary coil can be used to charge one ormore energy sources (e.g., energy source/battery of the lasers) of theLidar system. The two coils may be in a substantially parallelorientation or other orientation sufficient for inductive transmissionduring a charging process. Electric power can be transferred over shortdistances by magnetic fields using inductive coupling between coils ofwire. FIG. 16 shows an example of a Lidar system comprising a wirelesspower transmission module 1100. In the illustrated example, the wirelesspower transmission module may include: a transmitting part 1101, areceiving part 1102. The receiving part 1102 and the transmitting part1101 may be parallel with each other spaced apart by a short distance.In some cases, the transmitting part 1101 may be coupled to the top 600as described above and the receiving part 1101 may be coupled to therotor 100. The receiving part 1102 may be fixedly connected to therotor, and rotated about the central shaft 800. The central shaft 800may be connected to the cap 700 via structures 701, 702. The cap 700 maycomprise structures 7011 and sealing elements 903 such as O-rings forsealing the Lidar system. The central shaft 800 may also comprisesealing structure 804. The central shaft 800 may be connected to thebase 400. The sealing structure 804 and sealing elements 904 such asO-rings may be used for sealing the Lidar system from the bottom end.The central shaft 800 may be supported by bearings 121. The bearings 121may be connected to the central shaft 800 via intermediary elements 122.The Lidar system may comprise a rotary encoder 123. The rotary encoder123 may be disposed on the bottom end of the rotation cavity and is usedto measure the angular position/velocity of the rotor 100 which isconnected to the rotor 1002 of the motor module 1000.

FIG. 17 shows a side view of the wireless power transmission module1100. The power transmission module 1100 can be the same as the powertransmission module as described in FIG. 16. The transmitting part 1101may comprise a primary coil 11011, a first electromagnetic fieldshielding element 11012 and a circuit board 11013. The receiving part1102 may comprise a secondary coil 11021, a second electromagnetic fieldshielding element 11022 and a circuit board 11023. The electromagneticfield shielding elements 11012, 11022 may be configured to isolateelectromagnetic field of the wireless power transmission module fromother electrical elements in the Lidar system. The electromagnetic fieldshielding elements may comprise any suitable structures 110121, 110221and may have any suitable shape (e.g., ring, circular, etc). Thewireless power transmission module 1100 can include any otherelectromagnetic field shielding element 11024 located in any suitablelocations to shield the electrical components of the Lidar system fromthe electromagnetic field generated by the wireless power transmissionmodule. In some cases, the wireless power transmission module mayfurther comprise a circuit board 11014 in direct contact with theelectromagnetic field shielding element 11012. The circuit board 11014may in electrical communication with the circuit board 11013 and inconnected to the cap (now shown). The wireless power transmission modulemay further comprise a circuit board 11014 in electrical communicationwith circuit board 11023. The central shaft 800 may be rigidly connectedto a stator 1001 of the motor 1000.

The provided Lidar system may be provided on a movable object to sensean environment surrounding the movable object. Alternatively, the Lidarsystem may be installed on a stationary object.

A movable object of the present invention can be configured to movewithin any suitable environment, such as in air (e.g., a fixed-wingaircraft, a rotary-wing aircraft, or an aircraft having neither fixedwings nor rotary wings), in water (e.g., a ship or a submarine), onground (e.g., a motor vehicle, such as a car, truck, bus, van,motorcycle, bicycle; a movable structure or frame such as a stick,fishing pole; or a train), under the ground (e.g., a subway), in space(e.g., a spaceplane, a satellite, or a probe), or any combination ofthese environments. The movable object can be a vehicle, such as avehicle described elsewhere herein. In some embodiments, the movableobject can be carried by a living subject, or take off from a livingsubject, such as a human or an animal.

In some cases, the movable object can be an autonomous vehicle which maybe referred to as an autonomous car, driverless car, self-driving car,robotic car, or unmanned vehicle. In some cases, an autonomous vehiclemay refer to a vehicle configured to sense its environment and navigateor drive with little or no human input. As an example, an autonomousvehicle may be configured to drive to any suitable location and controlor perform all safety-critical functions (e.g., driving, steering,braking, parking) for the entire trip, with the driver not expected tocontrol the vehicle at any time. As another example, an autonomousvehicle may allow a driver to safely turn their attention away fromdriving tasks in particular environments (e.g., on freeways), or anautonomous vehicle may provide control of a vehicle in all but a fewenvironments, requiring little or no input or attention from the driver.

In some instances, the Lidar systems may be integrated into a vehicle aspart of an autonomous-vehicle driving system. For example, a Lidarsystem may provide information about the surrounding environment to adriving system of an autonomous vehicle. In an example, the Lidar systemmay provide a 360 degree horizontal field of view of the vehicle. Anautonomous-vehicle driving system may include one or more computingsystems that receive information from a Lidar system about thesurrounding environment, analyze the received information, and providecontrol signals to the vehicle's driving systems (e.g., steering wheel,accelerator, brake, or turn signal).

As used herein A and/or B encompasses one or more of A or B, andcombinations thereof such as A and B. It will be understood thatalthough the terms “first,” “second,” “third” etc. are used herein todescribe various elements, components, regions and/or sections, theseelements, components, regions and/or sections should not be limited bythese terms. These terms are merely used to distinguish one element,component, region or section from another element, component, region orsection. Thus, a first element, component, region or section discussedherein could be termed a second element, component, region or sectionwithout departing from the teachings of the present invention.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” or “includes” and/or “including,” when used in thisspecification, specify the presence of stated features, regions,integers, steps, operations, elements and/or components, but do notpreclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and/or groupsthereof.

Furthermore, relative terms, such as “lower” or “bottom” and “upper” or“top” is used herein to describe one element's relationship to otherelements as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood thatrelative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of theelements in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. Forexample, if the element in one of the figures is turned over, elementsdescribed as being on the “lower” side of other elements would then beoriented on the “upper” side of the other elements. The exemplary term“lower” can, therefore, encompass both an orientation of “lower” and“upper,” depending upon the particular orientation of the figure or thereference frame. Similarly, if the element in one of the figures wereturned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elementswould then be oriented “above” the other elements. The exemplary terms“below” or “beneath” can, therefore, encompass both an orientation ofabove and below.

Reference throughout this specification to “some embodiments,” or “anembodiment,” means that a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiment is includedin at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearances of the phrase “in someembodiment,” or “in an embodiment,” in various places throughout thisspecification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics maybe combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown anddescribed herein, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art thatsuch embodiments are provided by way of example only. Numerousvariations, changes, and substitutions will now occur to those skilledin the art without departing from the invention. It should be understoodthat various alternatives to the embodiments of the invention describedherein may be employed in practicing the invention. Numerous differentcombinations of embodiments described herein are possible, and suchcombinations are considered part of the present disclosure. In addition,all features discussed in connection with any one embodiment herein canbe readily adapted for use in other embodiments herein. It is intendedthat the following claims define the scope of the invention and thatmethods and structures within the scope of these claims and theirequivalents be covered thereby.

What is claimed is:
 1. A Lidar system comprising: a plurality of lightsources configured to emit a plurality of light beams; a plurality ofoptical fiber elements, wherein each of the plurality of light sourcesis optically coupled to an input end of one or more optical fiberelements from the plurality of optical fiber elements; and a mountingapparatus comprising at least one mounting unit, wherein the at leastone mounting unit is coupled to an emitting end of the plurality ofoptical fiber elements via a directional structure thereby providing aconfigurable distribution pattern of the plurality of light beamsemitted from the emitting end of the plurality of optical fiberelements.
 2. The Lidar system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of lightsources, the plurality of optical fiber elements, the mounting apparatusare configured to rotate about a vertical axis.
 3. The Lidar system ofclaim 1, wherein the plurality of light sources, the plurality ofoptical fiber elements or the mounting apparatus is disposed on asupporting body connected to a rotor of the Lidar system.
 4. The Lidarsystem of claim 1, wherein the configurable distribution pattern of theplurality of light beams emitted from the emitting end of the pluralityof optical fiber elements is independent of an arrangement of theplurality of light sources.
 5. The Lidar system of claim 4, wherein thearrangement of the plurality of light sources is optimized to facilitateheat dissipation.
 6. The Lidar system of claim 4, wherein thearrangement of the plurality of light sources is decoupled from avertical angular resolution defined by the plurality of light beams. 7.The Lidar system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of lightsources is optically coupled to one or more optical fiber elements usingan optical coupling element.
 8. The Lidar system of claim 1, wherein atleast one of the plurality of light sources is optically coupled to twoor more optical fiber elements using an optical coupling element.
 9. TheLidar system of claim 8, wherein the two or more optical fiber elementshave different optical properties.
 10. The Lidar system of claim 1,wherein the at least one mounting unit is mechanically connected to arotor of the Lidar system with a pre-determined orientation.
 11. TheLidar system of claim 1, wherein the directional structure is integrallyformed with the at least one mounting unit.
 12. The Lidar system ofclaim 1, wherein the directional structure comprises a set of slots orchannels.
 13. The Lidar system of claim 12, wherein the set of slots orchannels are arranged along a length direction of the mounting unit. 14.The Lidar system of claim 13, wherein the set of slots or channels arenon-uniformly distributed along the length direction of the mountingunit.
 15. The Lidar system of claim 12, wherein the set of slots orchannels are located on two opposing sides of the at least one mountingunit.
 16. The Lidar system of claim 12, wherein a subset of slots orchannels is selected from the set of slots or channels for receiving theplurality of optical fiber elements by the emitting end.
 17. The Lidarsystem of claim 12, wherein each of the set of slots or channels has apre-determined tilt angle with respect to a horizontal direction. 18.The Lidar system of claim 12, wherein an output direction of theplurality of light beams is individually controlled by selecting a givenslot or a given channel with a pre-determined tilt angle from the set ofslots or channels.
 19. The Lidar system of claim 1, wherein the mountingapparatus comprises multiple mounting units arranged in a horizontalplane with pre-determined orientations, and wherein each of the multiplemounting units comprises a set of slots or channels arranged along alength direction of the mounting unit.
 20. The Lidar system of claim 19,wherein the distribution pattern of the plurality of light beams emittedfrom the emitting end of the plurality of optical fiber elements isconfigured by: (i) selecting a subset of slots or channels from the setof slots or channels, or (ii) selecting one or more mounting units fromthe multiple mounting units.